


Crystal Clear

by ChemicallyEnhanced



Series: TakaRitsu Week 2020 [5]
Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Takano's glasses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25715998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemicallyEnhanced/pseuds/ChemicallyEnhanced
Summary: Takano comes to work without glasses one day.Day 5 Prompt:Glasses/Close
Relationships: Onodera Ritsu/Takano Masamune
Series: TakaRitsu Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858672
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	Crystal Clear

**Author's Note:**

> for [TakaRitsu Week 2020!](https://takaritsuweek.tumblr.com/)

One day, Takano came to work without his glasses.

It wasn’t really a big deal unless you counted the fact that Ritsu secretly thought that Takano’s eyes looked brighter without them—but he would rather _die_ than let anyone else know something so embarrassing. As if he could just go up to Takano and blurt out, “Your eyes look nice today” without expecting some kind of response.

Fortunately, Kisa beat him to it.

“Wow, Takano-san, you look different today. No glasses?” He asked once Takano had settled at his desk and begun taking out his myriad of pens and editing tools.

Takano made a noise, looking significantly bothered by the whole situation. “Broke them. I have to do without until I buy another pair.”

“That’s some bad luck right there,” Mino commented, though the enigmatic smile on his face did not waver.

Hatori glanced up from where he’d just finished taking a call, their idle conversation catching his interest. “What is?”

“Takano-san broke his glasses,” Kisa said with a sympathetic frown, apparently taking any sort of distraction from his work that he could, even if it was such an ordinary topic like Takano’s _glasses._

Ritsu kept his eyes down and focused on the first draft storyboard in front of him, hoping that nobody would ask for his input in this highly-stimulating conversation. He didn’t need to bring Takano’s attention to him anymore than he’d already had just by _existing._

Still, he couldn’t avoid not answering when Kisa suddenly piped up with, “Ricchan!”

“Ah, yes?” Ritsu looked up, noticing with some discomfort that everyone’s attention was now on him. _They were still talking about it?_ He wondered.

Kisa cupped his face with both hands and smiled innocently, as if Ritsu didn’t know _exactly_ how devious his work senpai could be when he decided to do something. “How do you think Takano-san looks without his glasses? I think he could probably catch more ladies this way, ne?”

Mino nodded and though Hatori didn’t say anything, Ritsu thought he might have agreed a little as well. He peered over at Takano’s desk, dismayed to find that the man didn’t even seem angry at their lack of productivity. Instead, Takano seemed to be angrier at the storyboard in front of him, nose nearly pressed to the paper—a tribute to his terrible nearsightedness.

“W-well, I don’t know what to say to that…” Ritsu finally ventured, not wanting to give his real opinion even if Takano _weren’t_ in the room. “A-anyways, shouldn’t we be getting back to work?”

“Boo.” Kisa pouted at him. “You’re no fun, Ricchan.”

_Are you older or younger than me, Kisa-san?_ Ritsu thought, frowning and turning to the storyboard he really didn’t want to edit. “Even though it’s still the beginning of the month,” he reminded them, “there’s still a lot of work to be done and I’m in charge of organizing this time, so… _please_ make sure to turn in your storyboards _on time_.”

“Hm, I don’t know about that…” Mino said as he drifted back to his seat. Ritsu’s eye twitched.

“Oh yeah, I remember having those kinds of useless thoughts…” Kisa mused, twirling around in his chair but falling silent regardless.

Ritsu felt a bit more of his sanity crack.

* * *

Only an hour or so had passed before Takano left the department for some sort of meeting. Privately, Ritsu worried about how Takano was going to fare without being able to see half of what he was reading. That one time he’d tried on Takano’s glasses out of curiosity had shown him _just_ how bad the man’s eyesight was. It was a wonder that he could see anything at all.

“Hey Kisa-senpai…” Ritsu said in a low voice to his desk partner.

“Hm? What is it?”

Unsure what to say without giving away just how much he was invested in this particular topic, Ritsu hesitated, then asked, “Did—is Takano-san’s eyesight really that bad? Wouldn’t buying contacts be an easier solution?”

Kisa tilted his head, apparently thinking. “I never knew whether Takano-san’s eyesight was _that_ bad or he just wore glasses for reading, so I wouldn’t know. Nobody in my family wears glasses.”

“…huh.”

“Why don’t you ask him, Ricchan?” Kisa suggested with a shrug, already turning back to his laptop.

_Like hell I would,_ Ritsu thought to himself, frowning again. _I’ve been trying to keep out of Takano’s way recently, and I’m not about to break that habit because I wanted to know about his_ glasses _, out of all things._

_Anyways, I don’t need to worry about that right now… besides, Takano will be fine. What am I worrying myself over?_

With that in mind, Ritsu returned to his own work, pointedly shoving down any and all concern he might have felt towards Takano and his troubles.

* * *

When Ritsu entered the break room later that afternoon, he was startled to see Takano sitting there, leaning back so far in his chair that it was in danger of tipping over. His face was covered in a magazine of some sort, but it didn’t seem like he was sleeping, judging by the way his body stiffened at Ritsu’s arrival.

_Do not interact, do not interact,_ Ritsu repeated to himself, pressing the button for that super-caffeinated green tea that Mino had recommended to him a few weeks ago.

“…oi,” Takano called from behind him. “Don’t ignore your superior.” Though the words were blunt, the tone in which he said them didn’t have the same… sharpness as it usually did. In fact, if Ritsu were to admit it to himself, he’d say Takano sounded almost _pained._

“…sorry,” Ritsu replied, turning to face Takano who still hadn’t sat up or removed the magazine. “I’ll be sure to remember that for next time. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“…no. Nothing.”

Ritsu was nearly out the door before _something_ in him—maybe that part of him that had always worried about Saga-senpai that had never really gone away—forced him to ask, quietly, “…are you doing ok? Your eyesight…” _Damn it, staying out of his way didn’t work._

Takano didn’t make some comment about how Ritsu’s concern was because he loved him, but instead, in an unexpected show of honesty, said, “I’ll be fine. My head hurts like hell, but I’ll get over it. You should get back to work.”

“…yes. Alright.”

_Why am I feeling like this?_ Ritsu thought as he went back to the _Emerald_ department. _Why am I so worried about him? It’s just a headache caused by bad eyesight, right? It’s not a big deal. Then why…_

Though he didn’t want to accept such a thing, Ritsu knew that, deep down, he would always hurt a little whenever Takano was in pain. No matter how many years had passed, no matter how many times he denied and rejected and refused, he would always be that young boy in high school who would do anything to keep his senpai from looking so sad.

* * *

Takano left Marukawa shortly afterwards, citing that he felt unwell and would catch up on all of the work he missed tomorrow. Ritsu deliberately did not look at Takano as he left, knowing that the man would be able to see emotions in his eyes that he wasn’t ready to reveal just yet.

Even so, Ritsu left several hours earlier than he usually did, reasoning with himself that because it was still the beginning of the cycle, he could afford leaving at 7 pm instead of 10. It was a weak argument, but everything in Ritsu rebelled staying at Marukawa once Takano left, so he took the train home once he could justify it was late enough.

Ritsu didn’t know what he expected to see once he reached their floor, but it wasn’t Takano sitting next to his door, curled up with hands pressed to his head as if he could just block the pain out.

“H-hey, Takano-san.” Ritsu would’ve been embarrassed at how quickly he rushed over had it not been for the low moan that Takano let out at the sound of his voice. “Are you ok? Can you stand? Do you need me to call for a doctor?”

Takano didn’t reply for a long moment, long enough that Ritsu thought he might have passed out, but eventually he muttered, “No doctor. I have… medicine. Kitchen cabinet.”

“Ok, in your apartment? Let me just get your—where’re your keys?”

“Left pocket.”

Once Ritsu got the door unlocked, he turned back to Takano, wondering how he was going to drag a man—who was significantly taller and heavier than him, mind—to his own living room without causing anymore pain. “Takano-san,” he said, crouching down. His voice had taken on a softer quality, not unlike how he’d talk to An or a little kid. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to stand up. I can help you inside, but not without your cooperation. Can you do that?”

“…fine.”

It was difficult, and Ritsu would probably have a sore back tomorrow, but they managed to hobble over to the living room where Ritsu helped Takano lay down on the couch and moved to turn on the lights in the kitchen. There, he found some headache medicine in a small yellow box and, after checking to make sure it wasn’t expired, filled a cup with water and returned to Takano’s side.

“Here,” he said, setting the water and medicine down.

With a bit of maneuvering, Takano sat up, took the medicine with the water, then immediately lay back down, eyes closing in what Ritsu hoped was relief. “…thanks.”

The reminder of what he’d just done made Ritsu flustered, but not enough that he would deny everything this time. It was probably a sign of their relationship growth that he didn’t instantly try to leave.

“Yes… of course,” Ritsu said quietly, not sure whether to stay or leave. “If… if that’s all you need…”

“Please stay.”

_Why am I relieved by such a small thing? All he did was ask me to stay._ Ritsu didn’t have to be asked twice; he moved to sit on the couch and, when Takano didn’t react right away, lifted the other man’s head so it was resting on his lap. It’d been so long since he’d done this for someone—the last being An sometime in middle school—but he found that the movements came to him naturally.

It was so easy to run his fingers through Takano’s hair, to gently press against his temples and forehead to try to relieve the pain. The more he worked, the more Ritsu found Takano relaxing against him, until his entire body seemed to sink into the couch. It was very quiet, but it felt… nice.

_If only this could be forever,_ Ritsu couldn’t help but think. _As infuriating as he is, he’s also hard-working, sharp, devoted… this wouldn’t be so bad, probably._

“I wish this was forever,” Takano said in a faint voice.

Ritsu startled from his musings, thinking that he’d accidentally spoken aloud. But, no, Takano was just staring up at him now, eyes clear in the dim lighting. “What?”

“How many times have I dreamed about something like this? About having you here with me, the two of us together… you feel the same, don’t you?”

A small part of Ritsu wanted to protest, even now, that Takano was only daydreaming and nothing would happen, but a larger part—the majority—was helpless to Takano’s sweet words, to his gentle tone and his warmth against Ritsu’s skin.

So, instead of replying, Ritsu simply leaned over and pressed a long, lingering kiss to Takano’s forehead, hoping that it would convey what he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud in words.

_Yes… I feel the same. Isn’t that obvious already?_


End file.
